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Do eating disorders co-occur with personality disorders? Comparison groups matter
Carlos M Grilo1, Charles A Sanislow, Andrew E Skodol
1Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06519, USA. carlos.grilo@yale.edu
The International Journal of Eating Disorders
|March 5, 2003
Summary
Lifetime rates of eating disorders (ED) did not significantly differ across major depressive disorder (MDD) and four personality disorders (PD). This suggests comorbidity patterns are influenced by base rates rather than specific disorder associations.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Clinical Psychology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Eating disorders (ED) are complex mental health conditions.
- Axis II personality disorders (PD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) are common comorbidities.
- Understanding comorbidity patterns is crucial for effective treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare lifetime occurrence rates of ED with specific PDs and MDD.
- To investigate whether EDs co-occur differentially with certain PDs or MDD.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from 668 patients in the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study (CLPS).
- Employed structured clinical interviews for DSM-IV Axis I and II disorders.
- Compared ED diagnoses distribution across groups with schizotypal, borderline, avoidant, obsessive-compulsive PDs, and MDD without PD.
Main Results:
- Lifetime diagnoses of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and ED-not otherwise specified did not differ significantly across the five study groups.
- No significant differences in ED distribution were found between the MDD group and PD groups, or among the PD groups themselves.
Conclusions:
- ED diagnoses do not show significantly differential co-occurrence with common Axis I and II disorders.
- Observed ED comorbidity patterns are largely influenced by base rates.
- Claims of comorbidity require substantial deviations from expected base-rate patterns.